Taking a break from the relevant news of the day, I wanted to take a moment to discuss taxes as well as an update on the Bluespring partnership.

1099’s are now out from Charles Schwab. If you do not want to wait for the mail and have yours e-mailed directly to you, please let us know. If you already have your Schwab log-in, you can download directly from their website. Furthermore, if it makes life easier, we’re happy to e-mail a copy directly to your tax advisor.

Traditional, Roth or SEP contributions can be added to accounts up to your filing deadline, which this year is Monday April 18th. If you are looking to make these contributions, please do not wait until the last minute as we want to allow enough time for paperwork to process and funds to deposit into accounts.

Bluespring

Behind the scenes we’ve been working hard to finalize our partnership with Bluespring Wealth Partners. We’re hoping to formally sign our agreement with them this week.

Side note, if you haven’t kept up on our writings regarding this, please review our comments HERE, HERE and discussion HERE.

Ironically, despite all clients giving us the ability to make discretionary investment decisions in accounts, we must obtain what is called ‘positive consent’ whenever we have a structural change in our business. This is simply a quick form that says you want us to remain as your advisor and have no disruption in your account management.

Our goal is to begin reaching out to all clients immediately through e-mail to secure this consent. Please be on the lookout for this upcoming communication and if you have any other questions other than some I’ve outlined below, please let me know. We’re very much looking forward to formalizing this relationship and moving on through what has already been a very interesting year.

I’ve had great conversations with many of you regarding this change so I thought I would outline some of the questions I’ve gotten. If there is something I’m not addressing, please let me know.

Q – If nothing changes for clients, why enter into this partnership with Bluespring?

A – While it is true that our name, team, location, custodian (Schwab) and investment management will remain the same, Bluespring will begin handling a variety of back-office business functions that I would rather not focus on going forward. Such things as Human Resources, Accounting, Administration, and other operational tasks will be off-loaded to Bluespring so that we may focus solely on client service, comprehensive planning and investment management.

Q – Will there be any additional fees or charges?

A – No. One of the additional reasons we’re pursuing this relationship is economy of scale. This means simply that we’re looking to leverage the resources of a large firm so that we may keep our expenses under control. Joule has not raised our 1% fee since our inception, yet our internal expenses have gone up significantly. We now have the ability to share costs among other Bluespring Wealth partner firms allowing us to maintain our 1% management fee.

Q – Will Quint continue to make investment decisions and be my investment advisor?

A – Yes. Over the years we’ve been approached by many organizations to form some sort of partnership. Their stipulation has always been for us to meld into their investment models and conform to their business practices. It was always a non-starter. I have no desire to conform to another’s opinions or investment management styles but rather will remain the head of the investment committee, which sets the path for our portfolios and strategies going forward.

Q – Who exactly is Bluespring?

A – Bluespring is a subsidiary of Kestra Holdings. The organization boasts over 2,400 advisors with $53B under management. You will notice the company also owns such organizations as Arden Trust, which if desired, will be another resource for our clients should Trust and Estate Planning services be needed in the future.

Bluespring traditionally has been an acquisition / succession planning firm, providing services to help older advisors transition away from their firms. Over time, however, they have partnered with more and more organizations, such as ours, not seeking to leave or retire but rather expand and utilize their additional resources.

Q – Why now?

A – As I’m sure you have realized. Joule continues to grow, considerably. I’m biased, but I believe we provide the best comprehensive financial and retirement planning in the country. In addition, our investment views continue to garner national respect, connecting us with clients all throughout the United States. As we approach $300MM, which we hope will soon be $500MM and beyond, I feel it is of critical importance to ensure we have the infrastructure to not only handle this growth, but we MUST continue to provide the service our clients have become accustomed to. I am confident that by removing many of the operational tasks from my plate, we can do just that.

If I’ve missed anything, please don’t hesitate to reach out. As mentioned, we’ll begin touching base with regard to obtaining your positive consent in the coming days.